Whats the best way to file taxes when married with two kids..?

Question

Hello,
Me and my husband are both in the militarty with two kids. Whats the best way to file for more money? We have always filed married but we dont get much back. I got out of the militay in Sept and he deployed to Iraq in Aug.

Answer 1

If you are married, you really only have two filing options:
-married, filing jointly or
-married, filing separately

In general, filing jointly will give the bigger refund.

Answer 2

I would say 99 % of the time the best outcome is gotten with married filing a joint return. Make sure you have a preparer that understands how to handle combat pay since this applies to your situation. I think you will find that you have a better return this year. I recommend a professional not a computer program when dealing with combat pay. I know the system I use at work I can enter all your information as married filing a joint return then click one button to find out the differences if you were to file seperately. Typically I divide the dependents equally and other deductions equally as well if both the husband and wife have an income. You do lose certain credits that could apply to your situation on a married filing seperate return.

Answer 3

Filing jointly usually gives you lower taxes, but figure it both ways.

There are special exemptions from tax for earnings while deployed to Iraq.